Aipom Line/DPPt
Wild Aipom can be found on Honey Trees slathered with Honey; these Honey Trees are located in Routes 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 218, 221, 222; in the shortcut around Eterna Forest, Valley Windworks, Floaroma Meadow and Fuego Ironworks. While frail, Aipom and its evolution can fill various niches that not many others can: Physical Sweeper, Scout, Utility 'mon and Baton Passer are all viable roles for this speedy Pokémon. Important Matchups - Platinum = * Mars (Valley Windworks): Zubat is doable, be careful of Toxic and Bite, which may dent your health and cause flinching as well, so heal when necessary; avoid Purugly because it's bulky enough to tank your attacks pretty well (even Rock Smash) and your bulk is low, so it won't withstand its attacks. * Gym #2 - Gardenia (Eterna City, Grass-type): This is a battle Aipom should spectate, Grass Knot has 40 base power against the chimp, so Cherrim is a threat, with or without Leech Seed in action; Turtwig has very good physical stats for this point of the game, knows Reflect to give you an harder time beating it and Razor Leaf will simply hurt, having the potential to One-Crit-KO; Roserade, well, just no, unless you're that desperate, Magical Leaf and Grass Knot out from that special attack are just plain suicide. * Jupiter (Galactic Eterna Building): Zubat is once again doable, but its moves might give you some troubles: Wing Attack is STAB; Bite can make you flinch and Giga Drain will replenish its health; Skuntank is better left to another teammate, STAB Nigh Slash hurts and a crit will remove your life from your body. * Gym #3 - Fantina (Hearthome City, Ghost-type): While Aipom could be a good choice, its main problem is the lack of moves able to hit Ghosts, aside from Astonish and Thief's TM. Duskull is frustrating because Will-o-Wisp will halve your only good offensive stat, so better have ready the heals; Astonish or Thief it, consider nerfing its Defense via Screech or Tickle. Haunter is, like its evolved counterpart in D/P, a physical attacker: watch out for Hypnosis and Confuse Ray, stall it out of Sucker Punches (its only attacking move other than Shadow Claw)and then proceed to take it out, considering Screech/Tickle once again to make things faster. Avoid Mismagius, its Special Attack is high, making even Psybeam and Magical Leaf a threat. * Rival (Hearthome City): * Gym #4 - Maylene (Veilstone City, Fighting-type): It's likely you'll have Ambipom at this point of game, but other than U-Turning against Meditite/Machoke (depending on your IVs and nature, maybe even Lucario, but it's still a gamble) in order to bait a Fighting move on your switch, there's nothing else to do. Ambipom is not that bulky, so it won't withstand a STAB SE Fighting move. * Rival (Pastoria City): * Gym #5 - Crasher Wake (Pastoria City, Water-type): You should avoid this battle completely: Gyarados and Floatzel have high attack, making a crit a possible OHKO, while Quagsire is bulky and can cripple Ambipom via Yawn and Rock Tomb's Speed reduction. * Cyrus (Celestic Town): * Rival (Canalave City): * Gym #6 - Byron (Canalave City, Steel-type): Despite access to Dig/Brick Break's TM and Fire Punch via Move Tutor, everything has high Defense and STAB moves that hit hard: Thunderbolt/Flash Cannon for Magneton, Earthquake for Steelix, Stone Edge for Bastiodon. You could use Dig against Magneton, but let a bulkier teammate deal with the other two. * Saturn (Lake Valor): * Mars (Lake Verity): * Gym #7 - Candice (Snowpoint City, Ice-type): You can deal with Sneasel with Fire Punch/U-Turn/Brick Break, avoiding Piloswine and Abomasnow because bulk and STAB moves. Froslass is a decent matchup, as long as the field is devoid of Hail; be careful of Psychic's Special Defense drop and STAB Blizzard, then proceed to spam Fire Punch or Shadow Claw. * Cyrus (Galactic HQ): * Saturn (Galactic HQ): * Mars and Jupiter (Spear Pillar, tag battle with rival): * Cyrus (Distortion World): * Giratina (Distortion World): * Gym #8 - Volkner (Sunyshore City, Electric-type): Jolteon can be taken out with Dig, but you should switch in case Charge Beam's Special Attack's raises start piling up. The rest has high offensive stats, so don't even bother with them, but you could U-Turn as parting gift, maybe even baiting them in using a NVE move against your switch (just be careful of Raichu, it might outspeed depending on your Speed stat. You don't want Ambipom to eat a Focus Miss). * Rival (Pokémon League): * Elite Four Aaron (Pokémon League, Bug-type): * Elite Four Bertha (Pokémon League, Ground-type): * Elite Four Flint (Pokémon League, Fire-type): * Elite Four Lucian (Pokémon League, Psychic-type): * Champion Cynthia (Pokémon League): * Post-Game: }} Moves Aipom starts with Scratch and Tail Whip, the very basics; Sand-Attack is next at level 4, but it relies too much on RNG; Astonish comes at level 8 and, despite the low base power, it hits Ghost types and can cause flinching as well; level 11 brings forth Baton Pass, essential for Baton Passer sets; Tickle at level 15 is a nice support move, since it lowers the foe's attack and defense by one stage each; Fury Swipes comes next at level 18, but it's more useful for Technician users; Swift is learned at level 22, but its damage comes from Aipom's low special attack; at level 25 there's Screech, that may or may not be useful depending on your tactics; Agility at level 29 should be considered only for Baton Passing purposes, since Aipom is already fast enough; Double Hit at level 32 is important because it's the move required for evolving in Ambipom (and it receives Technician's boost too); at level 36 comes Fling, whose power and effect are highly situational and depend on the held item; Nasty Plot is next at level 39, useful for a Baton Passer set or to boost Ambipom's poor special attack; at level 43, Last Resort is the last move learned, but its requirements for use and low PP make it easily outclassed by other moves. TM wise, Ambipom has many options: Iron Tail, Focus Punch, Brick Break, Shadow Claw, Rock Smash, Thief, Dig, Aerial Ace, Payback and U-Turn offer coverage on the physical side; notably, the latter can be used for scouting purposes (and it's a great asset if you're playing in Set Mode). Facade, Secret Power, Strength, Return, Giga Impact are reliable STAB moves. For support, there are Toxic, Thunder Wave, Swagger (beware of the free attack boost you gift your foe), Sunny Day and Rain Dance, Taunt, Protect and Endure '''(both useful to scout your opponent's movesets), '''Rest and Sleep Talk, Attract, Snatch (stealing the enemy's boost and then ''Baton Passing it? Cool idea!) and '''Substitute'. There are also other options, but those rely on the special attack stat and need one or two Nasty Plot boosts in order to be properly effective. Thanks to the Move Tutors, Platinum further expands its movepool: the elemental Punches (Fire, Ice and ThunderPunch), Knock Off, Fury Cutter in Route 212; Snore, Spite, Uproar in Snowpoint; Bounce, Gunk Shot, Mud Slap, Seed Bomb in the postgame Survival Area. Recommended moveset: * Physical Sweeper: Return, Shadow Claw, Brick Break/Fire Punch/ Ice Punch/ ThunderPunch, U-Turn. * Scout/Utility: Return, U-Turn, Tickle/Screech, a move of choice between Brick Break, Shadow Claw, Thief, Payback, Aerial Ace, Dig, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, ThunderPunch. * Baton Passer: Baton Pass, Substitute, Snatch/Agility/Nasty Plot, another support move/an offensive move just in case. Recommended Teammates To be added Other Aipom's stats Ambipom's stats * What Nature do I want? '''Anything that lowers its special attack is the perfect choice, since there's no particular reason to use its lowest stat. Physical sweepers will like Adamant and Jolly, while Impish and Careful mean more bulk, so they are perfect for Baton Passers. * '''Which Ability do I want? '''Technician is the best in battle (Run Away Aipom evolve in Technician Ambipom), while Pickup offers logistical support in the form of free items. They're both good abilities to have, so it's up to needs and personal tastes. * '''At what point in the game should I be evolved? '''In Diamond and Pearl, if you overlevel, even before facing Maylene/Crasher Wake; if you don't, by the time you're ready to face Fantina. In Platinum, you should have Ambipom around Veilstone. * '''How good is the Aipom in a Nuzlocke? * Weaknesses: Fighting * Resistances: None * Immunities: Ghost * Neutralities: Normal, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Bug, Psychic, Dragon, Dark, Steel, Fire, Water, Ice Category:Diamond/Pearl/Platinum Category:To be reviewed Category:Abandoned Articles